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In 2005, the popularity of cycling for Health , Fitness , and as a non polluting alternative to the automobile may be growing slightly. Statistics indicate that for each of the first four years of the 21st Century , Bicycle s have outsold cars in Australia . In 2004 bike sales totalled 1,128,306 — 18 per cent ahead of the motor vehicles total of 955,229. However, these sales have not translated into significant use of bicycles for transport. Most recent figures put cycling at only 2% of trips in Melbourne. HISTORY in 1895.]] During the 1890s cycle races like the Austral Wheel Race , and later the Melbourne To Warrnambool Classic , were very popular forms of entertainment drawing crowds of many thousands. Cycling was also an exciting new option for Transport taken up eagerly by many people. For women, cycling provided the opportunity of more freedom and being able to wear less restrictive clothing. The craze for cycling in the 1890s is portrayed in the poem ''Mulga Bill's Bicycle'' by Australian poet Banjo Patterson , and many other ballads from the time. Cycling provided an enduring activity for ordinary Melburnians until falling Automobile prices and growing consumer affluence saw increasing numbers switch over to the car in the 1940s and 1950s . Cycling as a sport Coburg Cycling Club, based on the Melbourne northern suburb of Coburg , is one of Australia's oldest cycling clubs. It was established as a social club in March 1896 by members of the St. Paul's church choir on Sydney Road . Members quickly found themselves participating in all levels of cycle sport. Many cyclists from the Coburg club rose to prominence including Iddo 'Snowy' Munro, Ernie Bainbridge, Richard 'Fatty' Lamb, Richard 'Dick' Ploog ( 1956 Olympian ). Victoria has produced many cycling athletes of world renown. Sir Hubert Opperman , "Oppy" (1904 - 1996), is perhaps the most well known and internationally recognised Australian cyclist of the 1920s and 1930s. As an Australian sportsman, his feats in Cycling are compared with Sir Donald Bradman in Cricket . He set the 24-hour road distance record of 505.75 miles (813.9 km) in 1939 ; the track record for 24 hours covering 489.3 miles (787.5 km) in 1940 . He won the 1928 Bol D'or 24 hour race and the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200 km marathon in 1931 in record time of 49 hours 23 minutes. Many of his long distance records stood for many years. In France and Australia he was feted as a sporting hero, with thousands attending a parade in his honour in Melbourne 1928 . Post World War II , Geelong cyclist, Russell Mockridge , was widely described as "Australia’s greatest all-round cyclist for all time". Due to his upper class accent he was initially dubbed ''Little Lord Fountleroy'', however his race wins soon earned him the nickname of ''The Geelong Flyer''. Tragically, he was killed by a bus in 1958 participating in the 225 km Tour of Gippsland. He was just 2.1 miles (3.4 km) from the start of the race at the Dandenong Rd / Clayton Rd intersection in Melbourne . Cycle racing continues to be popular in Melbourne with the Herald Sun Tour , since 1952, bringing professional cyclists from around the world for a multi-stage race around regional Victoria and Melbourne. Racing cyclists and Triathlete s are often seen training along Beach Road and the Nepean Highway from Black Rock to Mount Eliza . Each Saturday morning the Hell Ride leaves from Black Rock at 7am. It can contain up to 200 cyclists in summer months with speeds up to 60 km/h. Highly developed racing skills are required to maintain precision pack riding at these speeds and negotiate traffic and lights. The ride has built up a tradition since starting in 1984 , and now no one organises the ride or controls behaviour. Kathy Watt , 1992 Summer Olympics Gold Medallist in the Road Race, works in the Black Rock area as a personal trainer. Cycle Touring and Commuting Long distance cycle travelling was a fact of life in the 1890s for many Sheep Shearer s and other agricultural labourers with migratory work. The bicycle and Swag conquered much of Australia on dusty dirt tracks, long before the automobile made its appearance. In the main, however, long distance cycling was a sport of endurance or was done out of necessity. Up until the 1940s the bicycle was an important commuter vehicle for many Melbourne people. Post war affluence saw a decline in cycle commuting, and the bicycle was largely relegated to a children's activity or for sporting or recreational use. It was not until the 1970s that cycle commuting and cycle touring started being widely promoted and used again. In Melbourne cycle commuting and touring was stimulated by a number of factors:
In 1993 Bicycle Victoria launched the 210km Around The Bay In A Day ride around Port Phillip , held in October, which in 2005 attracted more than 10,000 participants. In recent years Bicycle Victoria has run regular ''Ride to Work'' days to stimulate, with some success, cycle commuting. This is assisted by the formation of many workplace Bicycle User Groups (BUGS). The Royal Automobile Club Of Victoria (RACV) in 2004 introduced a Bike Assist membership option, to assist cyclists with punctures or basic repairs. In November 1995 the first Melbourne Critical Mass was held. This has become a popular regular event with cyclists meeting in front of the State Library Of Victoria at 5.30pm on the last Friday of every month to ride around the city in safety as one mass. They are accompanied on a regular basis by the Police Bicycle Squad. Generally the police do not interfere in the event but act to facilitate its smooth movement to reduce any obstruction and to calm the antagonism of some car drivers. The effects of cycle helmet legislation As with other Australian states, Victoria's 1990 compulsory Cycle Helmet legislation had a strong negative impact on cycling in Melbourne. Surveys carried out at the same 64 observation sites [http://www.cycle-helmets.com/bicycle_numbers.html in May 1990 and May 1991 detected 29% fewer adults and 42% fewer child cyclists, with an overall reduction in cyclists of 36%. Further falls were recorded to May/June 1992, with teenage cycling reportedly showing a 46% decrease from pre-law levels. The limited injury reductions recorded among Melbourne cyclists did not match the actual decline in cycling. This has lead some experts to the conclusion that the law has actually resulted in increased rates of injury among Melbourne's cyclists. The law has also reportedly resulted in significant police efforts against cyclists. As of 2003, Victoria Police were still issuing around 20,000 Bicycle Offence Penalty Notices a year. Since the law, cycling in Melbourne has never been able to recover it's previous share of the transport split. In 1985-6, 3.4% of trips in Melbourne were by bicycle, recent 2004 data shows a decline to 2.0%. The experience of Melbourne's cyclists has given added impetus to the efforts of cyclists in Europe and elsewhere to resist, or repeal, such helmet laws. MELBOURNE CYCLE TRAILS Arising from the campaigns of Bicycle Victoria since the mid 1970s and increased recognition from all levels of government of cycling activities, Melbourne has developed a set of shared bicycle trails along the river and creek systems and next to freeways, as well as on-road Bicycle Lanes and shared use paths. A number of freeways have been constructed with dedicated separate bicycle paths built alongside, although the CityLink freeway system was built without including provision for cyclists along several sections including the Bolte Bridge . Cyclists are also excluded from riding the West Gate Freeway over the West Gate Bridge , although exceptions are made for some special bicycle events like the Great Melbourne Bike Ride organised by Bicycle Victoria. The major cycle trails are:
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